On this issue of the Times, the front page offers a four picture series of "a day in the life" of the U.S. soldiers over in Afghanistan. This article, "Between Firefights, Jokes and Sweat, Tales and Tedium" by James Dao, I found really well written. Dao really puts you in the soldiers' boots, he offers great detail, "tracer rounds whizzed overhead, mortar shells burst nearby and heavy machine guns clattered." The article describes the lives of men in the infantry and how it's very two-sided. On one side, the "adrenaline-fueled moments of fighting" and then there is everything else, "the dirty, sweaty, unglamorous, and frequently tedious work... filling sandbags, stirring caldrons of burning waste, etc" Dao paints a picture of what it's like being a soldier, he explains that there is so much waiting they spend their time, "they tell stories about girlfriends, wives, drinking, and sex. They wrestle and play six degrees of Kevin Bacon. They share music on ipods and check football scores on Blackberries. they debate evolution and chase chickens. They argue over comic-book heroes and then tell more stories about sex." The rest of Dao's article focuses on a few soldiers and their experiences, both good and bad. This article is a great example of using imagery and setting the scene first to really engage the reader. I really enjoyed it.
Another article I weirdly interesting was by Andrew Kramer, "For Russia's Poor, Blond Hair is Snippet of Gold." This article talked about this new obsession for hair extensions, wigs, and toupees. Apparently the most sot after color is blond. Russia is the leading producer of blond hair because of its citizen's economic standing. The article said that the reason why Russian women are selling their locks rather than Swedish women is purely for economic reasons. A 16' braid, the shortest length will give a woman $50.. which to me doesn't seem worth it considering these companies are turning it around and selling it to the rich for $439. Mr. Kuznetsov owns a human hair processing business Belli Capelli which means beautiful hair. He said that the reason human hair is in such a high demand is because, "This is capitalism. The people with money want to distinguish themselves from the people with no money. Why does one woman sell her hair to another? the person with money wants to look better than the person without money." This really baffle me, why don't these rich women just grow their own hair for free? After all it is human waste, I don't get this obsession. I guess I'm lucky I'm a brunette and people aren't chopping at the bit for my locks.
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